Soft contact lenses, by composition, are roughly thirty-five to seventy percent water. Contact lenses are hydrophilic and are stored in aqueous solution, from which the contact lens wearer removes them prior to inserting the lenses onto the eye. In order to insert a contact lens onto the eye, the fingertip (usually the tip of the index finger or middle finger) which applies the lens to the eye must be dry enough so that the lens sits up on the fingertip in a concave fashion. If the fingertip is too wet, the hydrophilic lens flops over or flattens out on the fingertip, making the lens' application to the convex eye surface difficult. Moreover, even if the lens sits up concavely on a wet fingertip, the moisture on the fingertip tends to cling to the moisture of the lens, making the lens transfer from the fingertip to the eye extremely difficult.
Currently contact lens manufacturers recommend that before handling a contact lens, the wearer wash his hands and dry them completely with a lint-free towel. The wearer then removes the lens from storage in the aqueous solution. The wearer removes the lens from the storage solution with his applicating finger, and then transfers the lens to the opposite hand, usually to the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand. The lens wearer then transfers the lens back to his applicating finger for insertion of the lens onto his eye.
Because the wearer's applicating finger becomes wetted when removing the lens from the aqueous storage solution, the applicating finger must be dried before it can be used to insert the contact lens onto the eye. However, the contact lens wearer is currently not provided, either professionally or commercially, with a material which is adequate for the purpose of drying his contact lens applicating finger.
From the recommendation of contact lens manufacturers, the lens wearer may understand that the material used for drying his lens applicating finger should be lint-free. To prevent introduction of harmful bacteria into the wearer's eye, the material should also be sterile. Of course, the material must also be absorbent in order to dry the applicating finger before it is used to insert the lens onto the eye.
While absorbent, household towels, e.g., bath or hand towels, gather dust and lint. Thus, if such a towel is used to dry the lens wearer's applicating finger, dust and lint are transferred to the contact lens and therefore to the eye. Facial tissues, toilet paper and paper towels are also inadequate because they leave bits of paper pulp on the applicating finger, which is then transferred to the eye. Such small pieces of paper pulp lint severely irritate the eye. Similarly, cotton balls are inadequate because they leave cotton fibers on the applicating finger which are then transferred to the eye.
Wax paper and tissues used for cleaning eye glasses or camera lenses are somewhat lint-free. However, these materials are inadequate because they are not sufficiently absorbent.